I've seen well water a lot harder than yours.

Based on the (limited) info you posted your water conditions far exceed the ability of box store softeners.

Questions...

Why a sediment filter? Having problems with sediment or just thought it was a good idea? What (physical) size is the filter?

Whirlpool whole house filter filtering what? is it a whole house carbon filter?

Seems that the OKC Health department tested for potability, but not aesthetics which is what concerns you now. I'm hoping they tested for bacteria as there was no result. You should find out.

You need to test for iron (ferrous and ferric), manganese, arsenic, copper, sodium.

We need to know the diameter of the plumbing at the softener installation location.

We need to know the SFR of the plumbing... here's how

Calculating Your Service Flow Rate

You will need a watch with a second hand and a 1 or 5 gallon container to measure your flow rate with the instructions below.

1. Using the bathtub as the measuring point, open BOTH the hot and cold water faucets completely open. If your tub has a single faucet then find a hose bib near the water entrance to the home. If on a well a hose bib after your pressure tank and before the old softener.

2. If you have a well water supply, wait until the pump kicks on before continuing.

3. Place either a 1 or 5 gallon container under the faucet and measure the amount of time it takes to fill the container in seconds.

You can forget the idea of a Fleck 5600 cause your softener will be far bigger than a 5600 can run.

justalurker, Thank you for your help.

I put the sediment filter in because the builder reccomended it, we still get the occasional sediment, but it is very rare and very little, the thing looks pretty clean after 6 months use. It is a
DuPont WFHD13001B Universal Heavy Duty Whole House Water Filtration System, with a 10 inch filter.

The whirlpool whole house filter is http://www.ecodynewatertreatment.com/central-water/central-water-home/

It looks like an carbon filter/sediment filter with a self flushing mechanism.

Re: iron (ferrous and ferric), manganese, arsenic, copper, sodium.

They did not test for those items, they only tested for Total Hardness. I will need to find someone who can test that, or is that a home kit to test for those items?

The diameter of the pex going into the softener is 1 inch. It takes approx 59 seconds to fill up a 5 gallon bucket with the bathtub with both hot and cold water running, after waiting for the pressure tank to empty and the pump to kick on. (Ran this test twice 59.3 and 58.9 were the results).

Re: Bacteria
We had the house tested for bacteria when we first moved in (it passed), we never drink the water and haven't really had any issues, so I did not test for that.

Thank you very much for your help.

You should be testing for nitrates and bacteria ANNUALLY.

When builders, contractors, and plumbers stop recommending water treatment equipment homeowners will be a lot better off.

You have some interesting limitations... 5 gpm SFR is just adequate to backwash a medium size softener let alone the giant you're going to need. We might get away with it by using around a 5 cu ft twin resin tank softener but that depends on the other test results.

I'd pull the 10" filter and the Whirlpool and set them aside.

You need to get water tests from a certified independent lab.

Have you considered getting a local water treatment pro in there to evaluate your needs and give you a FREE quote?

Well, I would like to skip having a pro come in basically because the costs. My neighbor had culligan come to his house and wanted 5k to install a system, I can do the plumbing of simple things like a water softener (especially since my builder helped me put the first one there). What would I gain by having a water treatment pro come out?

I did a SFR test at one of the outdoor faucets, which are pumped directly from the well, before the filters/softener and it took 50 seconds to fill a 5 gallon bucket, so adding the pressure tank, filters and softener, I lose about 9 seconds. I could turn up the pressure on the pressure tank to increase the pressure, its on 40-60 psi currently.

I found another testing service for the individual elements and I will get it tested next week. What do I gain by having the individual elements tested for? Isn't total hardness the key point?

Thanks for all your help.

Edit: I found a local kinteco dealer, I will give him a call tomorrow to see what he says.

This post was edited by wlburgess on Wed, Aug 27, 14 at 22:03

I hope your builder is better at building than suggesting water treatment equipment.

"What would I gain by having a water treatment pro come out?"

Well, pardon the pun, you might learn what you know and what you don't know from a FREE evaluation of your treatment needs by a professional and it will cost you NOTHING. Not many places you can learn something you want to know at NO COST and NO RISK

"What do I gain by having the individual elements tested for?" The result we're looking for is COMPENSATED HARDNESS not JUST hardness and iron and manganese are needed for that calculation.

Let me be blunt... if you're looking for an education in water treatment then I'm not your guy. I do HOW questions not WHY questions. It takes too much of my time and hurts my fingers typing to walk people step by step down the water treatment path when they don't know what they don't know and then question what I tell them to do.

I have no dog in this fight and am willing to help when I can. If you want help correctly sizing and setting up your softener I'm happy to help.

I apologize if I came off rude or questioning. I did not mean to come off rude or act like I don't appreciate your help. I appreciate your help. I plan on giving ecowater and kinecitco a call tomorrow and having them come out. Ecowater's website seems to think they can help with the sulfates as well. I imagine they will do a iron test as well.

No offense taken just putting my cards on the table.

Believe about half of what it says on their web site and then pay three to four times as much for it as you should.

When you're done with the big dogs look for a local independent water treatment pro. They'll be selling industry standard, not proprietary, softeners that have no national brand name. They are almost always more knowledgeable than the sales people who show up from the big dogs.

My suggestion to the OP is: Do a search on this forum for water softener posts and read them to gain a better understanding of the complexities of sizing and selecting a softener. That's what I've been doing and once I fix the plumbing and electrical issues, "I'll be back" (for advice).

A couple updates, I had a kinectico guy come out quoted me 4625 for a new softener. He did some water tests, he said zero iron, he got 37 hardness (I guess hardness can change for wells) and the ph was fine. He recommended a S350. I also called a online company, he recommended a Fleck 6700 XTR with a 110k grains. Also I have an update on the SFR, I did a measurement directly off the well (yard hydrant), and can fill a 5 gallon bucket in 17 seconds, putting my GPM at over 15. This would be the same rate as is at my pressure tank and right to the softener.

I am now thinking about either the Fleck 6700 XTR or the Fleck 7000 XTR with 110k grains and upgrading to the Purolite C-100 resin. The 7000 is slightly more expensive, but it seems to be more popular, so I was thinking in the future it might be easier to find parts.

Instead of having your water tested by a certified independent lab who has no interest in selling you water treatment equipment and who is far more skilled in testing procedures than any water treatment person or any DIYer with a quickie test kit you should rely on results from a softener salesperson looking to reach into your pocket for thousands of dollars.

Do what the online seller says to do. He has no ulterior motive and isn't interested in making the quickest and easiest sale possible.

I wish you the best of luck..

This post was edited by justalurker on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 11:03